15th July 2013: Austrianova has created an animal model that mimics human pancreatic cancer- Press Release in Biospectrum Asia, July 2012

Austrianova Singapore has created a mouse model that mimics human pancreatic cancer. This research has been published in the peer-reviewed online, open access journal PLoS One. The paper describes mouse models derived from human pancreatic tumors in which tumor cells were implanted in the pancreas, unlike the usual subcutaneous models. These new models are designed for advancing and fine tuning the Cell-in-a-Box pancreatic cancer encapsulated live-cell treatments that has already been successfully used in humans and is being prepared for late stage pancreatic cancer clinical trials by Austrianova Singapore together with Nuvilex.

Dr Walter Gunzburg, chairman for Austrianova Singapore, commented, “The pancreatic cancer mouse models were created with our partners at the University of Veterinary Medicine, in Vienna, Austria, and are important clinically since they mimic human pancreatic cancer. Most cancers, including pancreatic, involve changes in only one organ, location and cell type. The most important aspect of this model system is the location of the tumour solely to the pancreas, which differs from most other model systems”.

Austrianova Singapore’s Chief Executive Dr Brian Salmons stated, “We are excited by these new models since they should provide greater insight into how the therapy works and also allow potential improvements as we continue to advance the ongoing human pancreatic cancer clinical trials being planned with Nuvilex. From what we have learned to date, these models are more relevant for the human disease and should thus aid in the development and robust in vivo testing of new treatments.”